Frequency selective RF directional coupler

ABSTRACT

A directional coupler having coupling variability at separate portions of an operational frequency band. A frequency selective coupler comprises an input port, an output port, a coupled port, a termination port, a first RF filter coupled to the coupled port, and a second RF filter coupled to the termination port. The first and second RF filters yield a first coupling value at a first portion of the operational frequency band of the coupler and a second coupling value at a second portion of the operational frequency band. The first portion of the band corresponds to a range of frequencies at which higher coupling for the coupler is desired and greater loss in the signal is tolerable. The second portion of the band corresponds to a range of frequencies at which lower coupling for the coupler is tolerable and lower loss in the signal is desirable.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 62/862,302, filed Jun. 17, 2019, entitled “Frequency SelectiveRF Directional Coupler,” the contents of which are hereby incorporatedby reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention relate to a directional coupler havingcoupling variability at separate portions of an operational frequencyband.

BACKGROUND

FIG. 1 is a symbolic illustration of a theoretical RF directionalcoupler as known in the prior art. As can be appreciated by viewing FIG.1, a theoretical RF directional coupler has 3 ports, namely an inputport, an output port, and a coupled port. The function of a RFdirectional coupler is to direct most of the RF signal power applied tothe input port to the output port, except for a defined portion of theRF signal power which is diverted to the coupled port.

In typical applications, a uniform transfer function (i.e., amplitudeand phase over frequency) is desired between the input and output portsas well as between the input and coupled ports. A theoretical RFdirectional coupler functions such a signal applied to the output portwill be transferred by the theoretical RF directional coupler to theinput port, but not to the coupled port. Thus, while a theoretical RFdirectional coupler is input-output symmetrical in the sense that ittransfers signals in a very similar way from the input port to theoutput port as well as from the output port to the input port, atheoretical RF directional coupler exhibits selective directionality inregards to the coupled port. The coupled port is said to exhibitdirectionality because a portion of the signal power applied to theinput port of a theoretical RF directional coupler is directed to thecoupled port, but none of the signal power applied to the output port ofa theoretical RF directional coupler is directed to the coupled port.

In the real-world, practical RF directional couplers are typicallyimplemented as a device with four ports. FIG. 2 is an illustration of anexample internal construction of a practical RF directional couplerconstructed using two transformers as is known in the art. As shown inFIG. 2, a practical RF directional coupler having four ports comprisesan input port, an output port, a forward-coupled port, and areverse-coupled port. A practical RF directional coupler is designed toexhibit directivity in a symmetrical way: the forward-coupled portreceives a portion of the signal power applied to the input port but nota portion of the signal power applied to the output port; similarly, thereverse-coupled port receives a portion of the signal power applied tothe output port but not a portion of the signal power applied to theinput port.

Practical RF directional couplers are not perfect, and a small portionof an undesired signal power still arrives at the coupled ports. Inother words, while not desired or intended, in practice theforward-coupled port receives a small portion of the signal powerapplied to the output port. An attribute of a practical directionalcoupler called directivity is the ratio between the coupling in thedesired direction and the coupling in the undesired direction, which istypically expressed in decibels (dB).

While some implementations make use of both the forward-coupled port andthe reverse-coupled port of a practical RF directional coupler, in manycontexts the use of the reverse-coupled port is not required, and forthis reason the reverse-coupled port is typically terminated. FIG. 3 isan illustration of a practical RF directional coupler having aterminated reverse-coupled port as is known in the prior art. A RFdirectional coupler in which both its coupled ports are in use may becalled a RF bi-directional coupler.

The amount of signal power coupling from the input port to the coupledport is an attribute of a RF directional coupler. This attribute istypically expressed in dB and is a defining attribute of the RFdirectional coupler itself. For example, in an X dB RF directionalcoupler, the signal power at the coupled port equals X dB less than thesignal power applied to the input port. Note that higher coupling meansa lower value coupler (in other words, the value of X is lower).

The amount of the signal power coupling is determined by internalproperties of the RF directional coupler. To illustrate, consider FIG.4, which is an illustration of a two-transformer based RF directionalcoupler as known in the prior art. The coupling value of thetwo-transformer based coupler of FIG. 4 is determined by the wirewinding ratio between the primary and secondary sides of the twotransformers labeled N1 and N2 in FIG. 4.

The main line loss (i.e., the loss across the input port to the outputport or vice-versa) of a RF directional coupler is also typicallyexpressed in dB, where Y dB main line loss means that the signal powertransferred to the output port equals Y dB less than the signal powerapplied to the input port. For a theoretical RF directional coupler,increasing the amount of coupling increases the amount of main lineloss; however, for a practical RF directional coupler, the amount ofincrease in main line loss due to an increase in couple is even more so.In defining the requirements of a practical RF directional coupler usedin a communication device, a compromise exists between the requiredamount of coupling and the amount of main line loss that can be endured.A common design goal in a RF directional coupler is to minimize the mainline loss while achieving the required amount of coupling.

The magnitude of the coupling typically hardly varies over theoperational frequency band of a directional coupler. Moreover, couplingvariation is typically undesired and is experienced due to non-idealimplementation limitations.

In some unique applications, the practical RF directional couplercompromise between the required amount of coupling and the amount ofmain line loss has strong implications on the performance of acommunication device utilizing the RF directional coupler. One suchexample is the use of a RF directional coupler in a Full Duplex DOCSIS(FDX) system as implemented in an FDX node, which is illustrated in FIG.5. CableLabs® of Louisville, Colo. has publicly issued a DOCSIS 4.0family of specifications. These specifications describe how a fullduplex node may be utilized to achieve bidirectional communication in acable plant utilizing a certain band of frequency concurrently forupstream and downstream communication from (and to) a FDX node to (andfrom) one or more FDX cable modems. Simultaneously, other bands offrequencies are utilized for one directional communication between thesame devices. The FDX coupler shown in FIG. 5 is used to both direct thetransmitted downstream (DS) signal from the FDX node transmitter 510 tothe FDX node port 520, as well as to direct the intended receivedupstream (US) signal from the FDX node port 520 to the FDX receiver 530.The FDX coupler shown in FIG. 5 is further required to exhibit highdirectivity, thereby severely limiting the amount of undesirabletransmit signal power that is coupled into the receiver amplifier 540.

The FDX node of FIG. 5 must deliver a high transmit signal power to FDXnode port 520. As the FDX node of FIG. 5 exhibits high coupler main lineloss, higher signal power must be produced by transmitter poweramplifier 550. As a result, higher power consumption is required attransmitter power amplifier 550, thereby increasing the total powerconsumption of the FDX node.

At the same time, the FDX node must be able to receive a low power USsignal from FDX node port 520. A higher coupling loss at the FDX couplerresults in a lower signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at FDX node receiver 530,which may reduce the communication channel throughput and/or increasethe communication channel's error rate. A typical FDX nodeimplementation may use a 6 dB FDX coupler that introduces 6 dB loss inthe receive path. Such as coupler typically experiences a 2.5 dB mainline loss and introduces a 2.5 dB loss in the transmit path. Analternative FDX node implementation may use a 10 dB FDX coupler, whichintroduces a 4 dB more loss in the receive path but experiences a lowermain line loss and introduces only a 1.5 dB loss in the transmit path.

Other prior art implementations of a RF directional coupler (e.g., astrip-line coupler) may use different coupling mechanisms and/orconstructions, but those prior art implementations present similarcompromises between coupling and main line loss.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example, and notby way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and inwhich like reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a symbolic illustration of a theoretical RF directionalcoupler as known in the prior art;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an example internal construction of apractical RF directional coupler constructed using two transformers asknown in the prior art;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a practical RF directional coupler having aterminated reverse-coupled port as known in the prior art;

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a two-transformer based RF directionalcoupler as known in the prior art;

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a RF directional coupler in a Full DuplexDOCSIS (FDX) system implemented in an FDX node as known in the priorart;

FIG. 6 is an illustration of a frequency selective coupler in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is an illustration of a 5-element low pass filter (LPF) as knownin the prior art;

FIG. 8 is an illustration of a 5-element low pass filter (LPF) employinga series inductor as first element connected to the coupler as known inthe prior art;

FIG. 9 is an illustration of a 5-element high pass filter (HPF) as knownin the prior art;

FIG. 10 is an illustration of a 5-element high pass filter (HPF)employing a series capacitor as first element connected to the coupleras known in the prior art;

FIG. 11 is an illustration of a frequency selective coupler designed toprovide the desired coupling for certain channel(s) of interest whileminimizing main line loss for other channels in accordance with anembodiment;

FIG. 12 is a set of graphs which illustrate an example of twoconflicting FDX coupler requirements observed by an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 13 is an illustration of a frequency selective coupler optimizedfor a FDX deployment in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;and

FIG. 14 is an illustration of a frequency selective bidirectionalcoupler optimized for FDX deployments in accordance with an embodimentof the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Approaches for a directional coupler having coupling variability atseparate portions of an operational frequency band are presented herein.In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the embodiments of the invention described herein. Itwill be apparent, however, that the embodiments of the inventiondescribed herein may be practiced without these specific details. Inother instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in blockdiagram form or discussed at a high level in order to avoidunnecessarily obscuring teachings of embodiments of the invention.

Embodiments of the invention may be used for a RF directional couplerthat exhibits coupling variability at separate portions of the frequencyband(s) utilized by a communication device (hereinafter referred to asan operational frequency band). Approaches discussed herein deliberatelycause large coupling variability at different parts of the operationalfrequency band of a directional coupler to introduce more coupling atfrequencies where such higher coupling is required and higher main lineloss is tolerable, and lower coupling at frequencies where such lowercoupling is tolerable and lower main line loss is desirable.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of a frequency selective coupler 600 inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. Frequency selectivecoupler 600 comprises an input port 610, output port 620, a coupled port630, and a termination port 640. Base transformers 660 and 661 areimplemented to possess appropriate coupling to produce the high couplingdesired in the high-coupling frequency band(s) of frequency selectivecoupler 600. RF filter 650 is added at coupled port 630 as shown and RFfilter 652 is added at termination port 640. RF filters 650 and 652 aredesigned to pass the frequency band(s) of interest where high couplingis desired and high main line loss is tolerable.

Frequency selective RF filters 650 and 652 reflect signal power in thefrequency band(s) where low coupling is tolerable and low main line lossis desired. The filter reflection is designed as high impedance relativeto the characteristic impedance (e.g., 50 or 75 Ohm) exhibited atcoupler port 630 and termination port 640.

For example, a typical low pass filter (LPF) is designed with an oddnumber of elements and with parallel capacitors as first and lastcomponents. FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a 5-element low pass filter(LPF) 700 usable by an embodiment of the invention. Since capacitors aretypically less costly than inductors, LPF 700 depicted in FIG. 7 is aless expensive implementing mechanism for RF filter 650 and 652 than analternative design that employs inductors arranged in series as firstand last elements, such as the 5-element low pass filter (LPF) 800illustrated in FIG. 8. However, while both LPF filter 700 and LPF filter800 are reflective at their frequency stop band, LPF filter 700 exhibitslow impedance in that band and should not be used in a frequencyselective coupler 600, while LPF filter 800 exhibits high impedance atthe stop band, and may be used in the implementation of a frequencyselective coupler 600.

As another example, a typical high pass filter (HPF) is designed with anodd number of elements and with series capacitors as first and lastcomponents. FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a 5-element high passfilter (HPF) 900 usable by an embodiment of the invention. Sincecapacitors are typically less costly than inductors, HPF 900 depicted inFIG. 9 is a less expensive implementing mechanism for RF filter 650 and652 than an alternative design that employs inductors arranged inparallel as first and last elements, such as the 5-element high passfilter (HPF) 1000 illustrated by FIG. 10. Moreover, while both HPFfilter 900 and HPF filter 1000 are reflective at their frequency stopband, HPF filter 900 exhibits low impedance in that band and should notbe used in a frequency selective coupler 600, while HPF filter 1000exhibits high impedance at the stop band, and may be used in theimplementation of a frequency selective coupler 600.

At frequencies where RF filters 650 and 652 have a higher impedance thannominal, coupling mechanism 660 conveys (a) a higher effective impedanceparallel to input port 610 and/or output port 620, and (b) a lowereffective impedance in series between input port 610 and output port620. As a result, the effective main line loss of frequency selectivecoupler 600 is lowered below its nominal value set by base transformers660 and 661.

The non-flat main-line loss of frequency selective coupler 600, althoughbeneficial by reducing main line loss at frequency band(s) where such isimportant, is typically considered an undesirable effect in acommunication device in which a flat overall frequency response isdesirable. However, this non flat main line loss may be compensated forby other parts of the communication device in which frequency selectivecoupler 600 is deployed. For example, in an embodiment, a communicationdevice, such as an FDX node, employing frequency selective coupler 600may use frequency dependent amplitude compensation in its digitaltransmitter portion. The amount of compensation required to be performedby the communication device as a function of frequency can be determinedusing various techniques, such as by design modeling the frequencydependent coupler main line loss in the communication device, estimatingthe average frequency dependent main line loss by measuring a sample ofcommunication devices, individual calibration of each communicationdevice unit during its manufacturing process, and other suitabletechniques.

Some technical contexts may utilize frequency selective coupler 600 totap some of broadband signal power when only a relatively narrow part ofthe signal spectrum is of interest at coupled port 630. An example ofsuch a use case is when the signal is composed of a multitude ofchannels, but only a single channel of that signal is required for aspecific application. Nevertheless, utilizing a flat-spectrumfrequency-nonselective coupler in such a case typically introducesundesirable coupler main line loss to the complete spectrum.

FIG. 11 is an illustration of a frequency selective coupler 1100designed to provide the desired coupling for certain channel(s) ofinterest while minimizing main line loss for other channels inaccordance with an embodiment. RF filters 1110 and 1112 may beimplemented using surface acoustic waves (SAW) band pass filters (BPF),which are known to produce excellent frequency selectivity and can bedesigned to pass a single dedicated channel. SAW BPF 1110 and 1112 aredesigned to reflect the signal power of other channels that are not ofinterest with high impedance. Thus, at stop-band frequencies where SAWBPF 1110 and 1112 have higher impedance than nominal, signals applied tofrequency selective coupler 1100 experience a reduced main line lossthrough frequency selective coupler 1100.

In certain embodiments, a frequency selective coupler is desirable tosatisfy two conflicting requirements, namely high coupling at theCableLabs-specified FDX frequency band (108-684 MHz) to minimizeupstream (US) receive signal loss and optimize US receiver performance,and a low main line loss at high downstream (DS) frequency, e.g.,1000˜1218 MHz. FIG. 12 is a set of graphs which illustrate these twoconflicting FDX coupler requirements observed by an embodiment of theinvention.

An embodiment of the invention may utilize two 684 MHz LPF to create anFDX optimized coupler 1300 as shown in FIG. 13. Due to the high positiveamplitude tilt as a function of frequency that is required at the outputof the FDX node, most of the transmitted RF output power is atrelatively higher frequency. For example, with a typically required 21dB positive linear amplitude tilt between 108 MHz and 1218 MHz, thepower of the RF signal in the top third of the transmitted RF spectrumis 6.3 dB higher than the RF signal power in the remaining two thirds ofthe output spectrum. The two 684 MHz LPF denoted 1302 and 1304 in FIG.13 are designed with a reflective high impedance at the higher frequencyband, thus while the overall coupling is lower at higher frequency, thecoupler main line loss at higher frequency is reduced as desired.

In certain embodiments, a frequency selective bidirectional coupler isdesirable to satisfy the same two conflicting requirements, namely highcoupling in the frequency band(s) where such high coupling is requiredand high main line loss is tolerable, and low coupling in the frequencyband(s) where such low coupling is tolerable and low main line loss isrequired. Such a frequency selective bidirectional coupler 1400optimized for the CableLabs-specified FDX node is shown in FIG. 14. Adesired low main line loss is achieved in the higher portion of theoperational spectrum, while high bidirectional coupling is provided inthe range of the spectrum below 684 MHz.

In the foregoing specification, embodiments of the invention have beendescribed with reference to numerous specific details that may vary fromimplementation to implementation. Thus, the sole and exclusive indicatorof what is the invention, and is intended by the applicants to be theinvention, is the set of claims that issue from this application, in thespecific form in which such claims issue, including any subsequentmodification. Any definitions expressly set forth herein for termscontained in such claims shall govern the meaning of such terms as usedin the claims. Hence, no limitation, element, property, feature,advantage or attribute that is not expressly recited in a claim shouldlimit the scope of such claim in any way. The specification and drawingsare, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than arestrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A directional coupler having coupling variability at separate portions of an operational frequency band, comprising: an input port for a signal; an output port for the signal; a coupled port for the signal; a termination port for the signal; a first RF filter coupled to said coupled port; and a second RF filter coupled to said termination port, wherein said first RF filter and said second RF filter yield a first coupling value for said directional coupler at a first portion of the operational frequency band of the directional coupler and a second coupling value, different than said first coupling value, for said directional coupler at a second portion of the operational frequency band, wherein said first portion of the operational frequency band corresponds to a first range of frequencies at which, relative to said second portion, higher coupling for said directional coupler is desired and greater loss in said signal is tolerable, and wherein said second portion of the operational frequency band corresponds to a second range of frequencies at which, relative to said first portion, lower coupling for said directional coupler is tolerable and lower loss in said signal is desirable.
 2. The directional coupler of claim 1, wherein said first RF filter and said second RF filter both present high impedance relative to the characteristic impedance of said directional coupler at said second portion of the operational frequency band.
 3. The directional coupler of claim 1, wherein said first RF filter and said second RF filter are both surface acoustic wave (SAW) band pass filters.
 4. The directional coupler of claim 1, wherein said first RF filter and said second RF filter are both designed to pass one or more channels contained in said signal.
 5. The directional coupler of claim 1, wherein said first RF filter and said second RF filter are both low pass filters (LPF) designed to pass the Full Duplex band of DOCSIS 4.0 and block higher frequencies.
 6. A FDX node, comprising: a directional coupler, comprising: an input port for a signal; an output port for the signal; a coupled port for the signal; a termination port for the signal; a first RF filter coupled to said coupled port; and a second RF filter coupled to said termination port, wherein said first RF filter and said second RF filter yield a first coupling value for said directional coupler at a first portion of the operational frequency band of the directional coupler and a second coupling value, different than said first coupling value, for said directional coupler at a second portion of the operational frequency band, wherein said first portion of the operational frequency band corresponds to a first range of frequencies at which, relative to said second portion, higher coupling for said directional coupler is desired and greater loss in said signal is tolerable, wherein said second portion of the operational frequency band corresponds to a second range of frequencies at which, relative to said first portion, lower coupling for said directional coupler is tolerable and lower loss in said signal is desirable, and wherein the FDX node comprises a digital transmitter capable of performing frequency dependent amplitude compensation to compensate for frequency-variable loss imposed on said signal by said directional coupler.
 7. A bidirectional coupler having coupling variability at separate portions of an operational frequency band, comprising: an input port for a signal; an output port for the signal; a forward coupled port for the signal; a reverse coupled port for the signal; a first RF filter coupled to said coupled port; and a second RF filter coupled to said reverse coupled port, wherein said first RF filter and said second RF filter yield a first coupling value for said bidirectional coupler at a first portion of the operational frequency band of the bidirectional coupler and a second coupling value, different than said first coupling value, for said bidirectional coupler at a second portion of the operational frequency band, wherein said first portion of the operational frequency band corresponds to a first range of frequencies at which, relative to said second portion, higher coupling for said bidirectional coupler is desired and greater loss in said signal is tolerable, and wherein said second portion of the operational frequency band corresponds to a second range of frequencies at which, relative to said first portion, lower coupling for said bidirectional coupler is tolerable and lower loss in said signal is desirable.
 8. The bidirectional coupler of claim 7, wherein said first RF filter and said second RF filter are both low pass filters (LPF) designed to pass the Full Duplex band of DOCSIS 4.0 and block higher frequencies.
 9. A method for using a RF coupler having coupling variability at separate portions of an operational frequency band, comprising: using the RF coupler to provide coupling variability at separate portions of an operational frequency band, wherein the RF coupler comprises: an input port for a signal; an output port for the signal; a forward coupled port for the signal; a reverse coupled port for the signal; a first RF filter coupled to said coupled port; and a second RF filter coupled to said reverse coupled port, wherein said first RF filter and said second RF filter yield a first coupling value for said RF coupler at a first portion of the operational frequency band of the RF coupler and a second coupling value, different than said first coupling value, for said RF coupler at a second portion of the operational frequency band, wherein said first portion of the operational frequency band corresponds to a first range of frequencies at which, relative to said second portion, higher coupling for said RF coupler is desired and greater loss in said signal is tolerable, and wherein said second portion of the operational frequency band corresponds to a second range of frequencies at which, relative to said first portion, lower coupling for said RF coupler is tolerable and lower loss in said signal is desirable.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein said first RF filter and said second RF filter are both low pass filters (LPF) designed to pass the Full Duplex band of DOCSIS 4.0 and block higher frequencies.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein said reverse coupled port is coupled to ground and said RF coupler is a directional coupler.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein said RF coupler is a bidirectional coupler.
 13. The method of claim 9, wherein said first RF filter and said second RF filter both present high impedance relative to the characteristic impedance of said directional coupler at said second portion of the operational frequency band.
 14. The method of claim 9, wherein said first RF filter and said second RF filter are both surface acoustic wave (SAW) band pass filters.
 15. The method of claim 9, wherein said first RF filter and said second RF filter are both designed to pass one or more channels contained in said signal.
 16. The method of claim 9, wherein the RF coupler is comprised within a FDX node, and wherein the method further comprises: a digital transmitter, comprised within the FDX node, performing frequency dependent amplitude compensation to compensate for frequency-variable loss imposed on said signal by said RF coupler. 